Subjunctive: Part VI

In Part I, you learned that the subjunctive mood is used whenever the speaker feels uncertain about the action of the sentence, or when the speaker is expressing a subjective opinion.

In Parts II – IV, you learned all the rules for conjugating regular verbs in the present subjunctive.

In this lesson, you will simply practice another of the many ways the subjunctive is used: to express ignorance or doubt.

Here is a list of common expressions that introduce an aspect of ignorance or doubt to the sentence, and therefore trigger the use of the subjunctive.

dudar que …

to doubt that …

es dudoso que …

it is doubtful that …

es improbable que …

it’s unlikely that …

es incierto que …

it’s uncertain that …

es posible que …

it’s possible that …

no creer que …

not to believe that …

no es cierto que …

it’s not certain that …

no estar convencido de que …

to not be convinced that …

no estar seguro de que …

to not be sure that …

no parecer que …

to not seem that …

no pensar que …

to not think that …

no suponer que …

to not suppose that …

puede ser que …

it may be that …

negar que …

to deny that …

no es verdad que …

it’s not true that …

no es cierto que …

it’s not certain that …

no imaginarse que …

to not imagine that …

temer que …

to suspect that …

Remember, there are also expressions that trigger the use of the indicative mood, since they introduce a quality of certainty. Here’s a partial list of such expressions that we will mix into the practice exercises for this lesson, just to keep you on your toes!

no dudo que …

to not doubt that …

estar seguro de que …

to be certain that …

creer que …

to think that …

no negar que …

to not deny that …

es verdad que …

it’s true that …

Let’s add a flashcard for some expressions that introduce an aspect of ignorance or doubt: